Biden's New Border Policy Sparks Confusion and Criticism

President Biden has announced a stringent new executive action aimed at curbing illegal crossings at the southwest border. The policy, which took effect late Tuesday, bans asylum claims and mandates the deportation of migrants entering the U.S. illegally when the seven-day average of illegal crossings exceeds 2,500. The move has left many migrants and U.S. border officials confused and concerned about enforcement without additional funding from Congress.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials worry that detention facilities and processing centers could become overcrowded, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lacks the capacity and authority to indefinitely detain migrants. Despite the U.S. deporting an average of 62,000 people per month over the past year, the number of illegal crossings has been more than double that each month.

Mexico has agreed to take back 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela since January 2023. However, the number of nationals from these countries often exceeds 30,000 monthly. Migrants from the Eastern Hemisphere are also subject to the new order but cannot be indefinitely held in custody. To address the situation, DHS will be surging resources to the border in the coming weeks, with new policies expected to reduce migrant processing time by 30 to 45 minutes.

Under the new policy, migrants will have only four hours to find a lawyer before meeting with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers. Some migrants have already been deported since the policy went into effect at midnight Wednesday. The impact of the policy will depend on the number of migrants arriving at the border.

The executive order has faced sharp criticism from Democrats and immigration advocacy groups, including the ACLU. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal expressed profound disappointment during a rally in front of the U.S. Capitol. President Biden defended the decision, stating he cannot stand by as undocumented migrant crossings have reached nearly 10 million during his administration.

Migrants and border officials alike are grappling with the new reality. A group of 50 migrants, including men, women, and children from Cuba, Ecuador, China, and Brazil, completed a nine-hour trek through the mountains north of Tecate, Mexico. Among them was Lucas Lu, a 32-year-old former hotel manager from China, who was aware of the order and worried he had arrived too late to seek asylum. Lu sustained a spinal injury while traveling by boat in Panama and took three months to reach the southern border, fleeing authoritarian repression in search of safety, dignity, and freedom of speech.

Border Patrol agents, who arrived with three sprinter vans and five other vehicles to pick up the migrants, instructed them to discard their food and water. One agent threw away Lu's walking stick. Despite a recent dip in arrivals, the daily average of arrests between official ports of entry remains above the 2,500 threshold.

The Mexican government has agreed to accept some migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba, but removing migrants from countries like China, which don't regularly accept deportation flights, remains challenging. This uncertainty extends to where the Biden administration will hold a potentially large number of detained migrants until deportation.

Migrant shelters like the Movimiento Juventud 2000 in Tijuana, directed by Jose Garcia Lara, have seen a rise in daily occupants from 60 to 100. Garcia Lara noted that shelter numbers tend to be low when more people choose to cross the border illegally. Migrants Rosario de Leon and Gracia Cortez have waited two months for an appointment, with Cortez hoping the new rule will open up more appointments through the app.

Mariela Diaz, waiting at a trolley station in San Ysidro for her husband to be released from federal custody, understands the president's decision and feels relieved she arrived before the order took effect, though she empathizes with those arriving too late. Agents remain unsure how to handle deportations for migrants from countries that won't accept them back, such as Venezuela and China.

Amid these complexities, migrant WhatsApp chat groups are filled with questions and concerns about the new policy, and senior DHS officials continue to discuss how to handle migrants from countries that do not take them back. The situation remains fluid as both migrants and officials navigate the evolving landscape of U.S. border policy.

Conservative Bias:

Well, here we go again, folks! President Biden has once again shown his utter incompetence with this so-called "new border policy." It's a desperate attempt to look tough on illegal immigration, but we all know it's just a smokescreen. The liberals and their open-border policies have created this crisis, allowing nearly 10 million undocumented migrants to flood our country! Now, they're scrambling to fix the mess they made. Biden's plan to ban asylum claims and deport migrants is too little, too late. And who suffers? The American people, that's who. Our border officials are overwhelmed, detention facilities are bursting at the seams, and law-abiding citizens are left to deal with the chaos. The Democrats and their activist buddies like the ACLU are whining, but they have no real solutions. This is what happens when you have a weak, liberal administration that can't secure our borders or protect our nation. It's time to put America first and stop this madness!

Liberal Bias:

This is what happens when you have a heartless, right-wing administration masquerading as a compassionate government. President Biden's new border policy is nothing more than a cruel, draconian measure that punishes desperate migrants seeking a better life. The Republicans have pushed this administration into a corner, forcing them to adopt inhumane policies that betray our values. Migrants like Lucas Lu, fleeing repression and risking their lives, are met with callous indifference. The GOP's obsession with deportation and detention has turned our border into a humanitarian disaster. They're more interested in scoring political points than addressing the root causes of migration. And let's not forget, the Republicans in Congress are refusing to provide the necessary funding to handle this crisis humanely. This policy is a stain on our nation's conscience, and the blame lies squarely with the conservatives who have turned their backs on human dignity and compassion.